Shooting at Stars
by fhobos
Summary: Drabble and one-shot series centering around various characters, mostly Kagura, Kamui, Gintoki, Hijikata, Okita, and one random IkuKatsu. Number 16: Kagura, Kamui, letters have a mysterious way of reaching their recipients
1. all in this together, kagura

**A/N: **These will be a drabble series (not 100-word perfect drabbles, but perfection is overrated) centering around Kagura x whoever floats my boat, mostly Gintoki, Kamui, Hijikata or Okita. I'm giving myself leeway in terms of subject matter. Rating will go up.

**Prompt: **Kagura, growing up

.

**1**

_all in this together_

.

If someone asks Kagura who she is, she will either turn her nose into the air like the Queen of Kabukichou she claims to be, or grin impishly while dishing out mayhem.

If Kagura asks herself who she is, she will tell herself that she is merely the lead heroine of the drama of her life. A simple creature going her own way, never the spectator, and certainly not one to parse words and pause and look around.

There is hardly a moment to do so, not in her world: Yorozuya, aliens, Sadaharu, Shinsengumi, odd jobs, Zura and the rest, sukonbu, the denizens of Kabukichou and Edo, Papi, threats from samurais with vendettas, and, hovering somewhere like a dark cloud, her brother.

(If it could be described in colors, she would name them all and invent new ones.)

Someone warns her about the difficulty of growing up, tells her that it's like floating on your back on the ocean's surface with your eyes closed, waiting for the eventual tide to sweep over you, into you, suck you under, drag you down with a force so strong you drown without a fight.

Kagura shrugs, points at the people in her life — _most of them older than herself, and some much older, and some very, very far away — _and says:

"They're still struggling, too."

* * *

_Word Count: 222_


	2. meet you in the middle, ginkagu

**Prompt:** Gintoki, Kagura, ice cream

.

**2**

_meet you in the middle_

.

Kagura regards the tower of ice cream with narrowed eyes. She's trying to determine the best point of attack — from the waffle cone at the bottom, or the egg-shell-white scoop on top?

"Hurry up, it's melting in my hand," Gintoki says. He doesn't even know how he's capable of holding it at all; he's lost count at thirty-nine scoops.

"Don't rush me, Gin-chan," she snaps back. "Alright, here's the plan — you hold The Tower steady and I'll start from the top, work my way down."

"Greedy brat, who's the one who paid for it?"

"You did," Kagura says. "But _I'm_ going to be the one to _eat it_."

He sighs; he doesn't like to act as the mature one but clearly there needs to be a compromise.

"How about this: you start on the bottom, I'll start on top, and we'll meet at the middle?"

Kagura shows her consent by leaning forward and nibbling at the tip of the cone. Her mouth covers a few of his fingers and his cheeks grow warm as her tongue licks away the running ice cream lines.

"What—"

"I'm starting at the bottom," she says cheekily, smile widening at his slack-jawed look.

* * *

_Word count: 199_


	3. something foul, okikaguhiji

**Prompt:** Okita, Hijikata, crown

.

**3**

_something foul_

.

Kagura shouts obscenities and Okita replies with an evil grin.

Then he settles a crown of white flowers on her head in a move so startlingly gentle she pauses. His fingertips lightly graze the sides of her forehead and the wind ruffles the blossoms into the air and she wonders if the smile on his face is real—

Her nose twitches violently, and with a shriek she grabs the odor-laden crown, throws it at his smirking face, and lunges after him.

She notices Hijikata watching them with transfixed eyes, the cigarette leaning haphazardly over the edge of his lips, oceans away and locked in a world of his own making.

(She wants to know if, in that world of his, he is alone or if there is someone with him.)

* * *

_Word count: 130_


	4. tastes like victory, shinpachikagu

**Prompt: **Shinpachi, liar

.

**4**

_tastes like victory_

.

"Hungry already, Kagura-chan?" Shinpachi shakes his head, half-amused, half-exasperated, all knowing.

He pulls out ingredients from the fridge, the cabinets. Kagura poorly masks her anticipation and watches him like he's a magician: Shinpachi minces, Shinpachi stirs, Shinpachi tosses ingredients one after another with practiced abandonment until the Yorozuya kitchen is filled with scents — fresh-cooked rice, garlic mellowing as it lingers over meat in the pan, and the more elusive scent of vegetables underneath, raw tomatoes, crunchy peppers, water on lettuce.

Shinpachi flicks his wrist, the pan tilts over the fire and it all arcs into the air before landing back into the pan. The flames pop and crackle and Kagura learns that sounds can make her want.

"Hope you don't mind stir-fried rice, there wasn't much in the fridge so I had to make do," Shinpachi says as he serves her a dish. "Looks like I'll have to go food-shopping tomorrow… well, how is it?" He's waiting expectantly, slightly shy.

The first spoonful is magnificent.

She says, blithely, "_Meh_."

Shinpachi's expression is flat as he watches the girldevour her meal and wordlessly, he dumps the leftovers in the still-warm pan onto her plate.

That, too, is gone in seconds.

Kagura claps her hands together and bows. "You've saved me, Shinpachi!"

He nods, unimpressed, and gathers the dishes. He's turning the faucet on when Kagura, lingering in the kitchen entrance, speaks. "Let me know when you go food-shopping tomorrow, alright?"

"Yes, yes, you're going to make sure I buy you sukonbu again? I don't need you watching me, you know—"

"I'll carry the bags for you," Kagura blurts before scampering off.

* * *

_Word count: 272_


	5. amorous declarations, okikagu

**Prompt: **Kagura, Okita, sand

.

**5**

amorous declarations and other heinous crimes

.

Kagura's burrowed under the covers and Okita is burrowed under her. They're a tangle of limbs and nipping teeth and she doesn't know how a conversation starting with _Hey, douchebag, _ends with arms wrapped around her stomach.

"You know I love you, right?" he mumbles against her skin.

Kagura waves her hand impatiently. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Just don't say it out loud — it sounds like a death threat coming from you."

She feels his lips pulling into a smile and she can't see if she should be worried (genuine? sadistic? humorless?)

"I love you, _darling_," Okita says, caressing the words into existence.

Kagura chokes on air and flings him off of her by his sandy hair. He rolls into the shoji doors and she hopes he's dead.

(But not really.)

* * *

_Word Count: 131_


	6. diplomacy, okikagu

**Prompt: **Okita, Kagura, camel

.

**6**

_diplomacy_

.

She blocks the foot aimed for her head with practiced ease, turning his own momentum against him by grabbing it swiftly and tossing him into the sky. Okita lands a few feet away and springs into a charge—

They interlock limbs, like two bulls with their horns stuck together. Kagura grunts and twists his arm; Okita winces and responds in kind. A brief struggle of wills and she bites out:

"I propose a truce."

He smirks, keeps his hold tight. "A truce?"

"That's what I said," she grouses, then regains her temper and sighs.

"A temporary one. It gets old, this _kill-on-sight_ kind of thing we're doing." She jerks her head to a camel-colored paper bag of smashed fruits and broken eggs. "I can't even go grocery shopping!"

Okita considers her words, weighing them. He nods. "Deal."

He leans in, kisses her on the mouth and jumps out of reach. His grin widens at her stunned look.

The indignant shriek that follows can't hide her blush. "_What was that?"_

"Signing the peace treaty," he says with a mocking wave, tilting his head_ just so _to dodge the vending machine.

* * *

_Word Count: 189_


	7. the waiting game, kamuikagu

**Prompt: **Kagura, Kamui, not yet

.

**7**

_the waiting game_

.

Yoshiwara blinds her with its neon lights and tinkering voices wreathed with knowing winks. She feels small despite her high-heeled black boots, but it could be that she's losing. Kamui lifts one finger and she's curled on the broken floor, gasping for air and choking on blood.

"Grow up some more, sister dear," he says, sweetly, all smiling lips like the edge of a knife. His eyes open and she drowns in oceans, in the blue that reflects in the morning mirror. He dips his head into the curve of her neck, below the still-soft jaw.

"Don't keep me waiting forever," he whispers. His lips ghost over her still-round cheek—

(the dreams of calloused fingers skimming up her thighs are things she tells herself are nightmares)

—and he pulls away, disappears before she can scream, _Kamui._

* * *

_Word Count: 136_


	8. the waiting game, redux, kamuikagu

**Prompt: **Kagura, Kamui, eggplant

.

**8**

_the waiting game (redux)_

.

Kagura sees an opening.

She pushes off with high-heeled black boots and the wooden floor caves from the force alone. She cannonballs, umbrella-arm swinging back to strike—

"Always so _hasty_," he chides.

—Kamui's arms shoot out to restrain her, grips her hard enough to leave eggplant bruises to remember him by and he lets her momentum carry them to the ground. She tumbles onto him and he laughs teasingly, leaning forward, "You only needed to _ask._"

His tongue steals across her broken lips, takes her taste of iron and will.

A frustrated cry claws its way out of her throat.

* * *

_Word Count: A perfect 100!_


	9. read the fine print, hijikagu

**Prompt: **Hijikata, Kamui, terra cotta red

.

**9**

_read the fine print_

.

It's a beautiful Saturday morning, the kind that brings psychopaths with a smile too wide to be anything but alarming.

"Hello, Hijikata-san, is it?" asks a deceptively polite voice.

The Shinsengumi captain looks up from his bowl of mayonnaise with extra mayonnaise. "Who wants to know?"

He only has time to snatch up his still-burning cigarette from a dish before his seat is smashed beneath a fist.

Terra-cotta Braid _tsks _softly. "Kagura must've forgotten to mention me, I'm hurt!"

Hijikata has a non-fatal heart attack.

A brother with a sister-complex the size of Jupiter? His girlfriend (he still twitches at the endearment) has some explaining to do. He did _not _sign up for this.

* * *

_Word Count: 114_


	10. made for sharing, ginkagu

**Prompt: **Gintoki, Kagura, pocky

.

**10**

_made for sharing_

.

Gintoki rips apart the wrapper, an attractive line of drool dribbling down the corner of his mouth. Strawberry pocky, his—

"Ooh, strawberry pocky, _my favorite!"_ chirps Kagura as she pops up, suddenly very close. "Give it here, Gin-chan."

He scowls and chomps one whole stick. "Get your own, brat."

"But those are mine!"

"Don't lie, I just bought them!"

"For _me!" _

He does not deign her ridiculous statement with a reply. Instead, he pops six more sticks into his mouth and eats them with exaggerated relish. Her eyes narrow as he takes out the last stick with tantalizing care and slips one end between his lips with a shit-eating grin.

Kagura dives forward to bite the other end, the strawberry-flavored stick disappearing in her mouth, but miscalculates. Their lips touch like two ships crashing in the night.

She breaks away.

"That'll teach you to taunt me, _aru,_" she says, all flustered courage as she stomps away while trying not to trip.

Gintoki stares after her, dazed and flushed and wondering, _huh, soft._

* * *

_Word Count: 172_


	11. loaded questions, ginkagu

**Prompt: **Gintoki, Kagura, gun

.

**11**

_loaded questions_

.

"Gin-chan, what's it like to like someone?"

He thumbs a page of the newspaper, brows furrowing at the headlines, _OWee selling like hot cakes! _"It's like you want to be with them no matter what, even if they might not want to be with you."

"That sounds like a stalker," she mutters darkly. She sits up. "I like you and I want to be with you forever so does this mean I have to marry you?"

Gintoki folds the paper, carefully. "It's quite simple, Kagura-chan."

"Gin-chan," she says, tone as flat as a sheet of metal. "Where are you going?"

Gintoki freezes, halfway to the door. He spins around and laughs nervously. "O—oh, just thought there might be someone waiting for me outside, or a time machine…" His words peter out as arms encircle his waist and a head buries against his back.

"Stupid Gin-chan," Kagura says softly. "Can't even answer that without running away?"

She sounds so wise and it makes him feel so foolish; he wonders how the reversal happened.

He wants to say, _no, I'm not running away because I can't answer, _he wants to say, _it's because I don't know what to think around you._

* * *

_Word Count: 200_


	12. just a number, ikumatsukatsura

**A/N: **This marks the first deviation from the Kagura-centric drabbles! I'm expanding this drabble series to focus on characters/relationships other than ones with Kagura. Ikumatsu/Katsura first, because I adore them like hell.

**Prompt: **Ikumatsu, Katsura, birthday

.

**12**

_just a number_

.

"What is… this?" he asks after she pulls off the napkin to reveal a steaming bowl of ramen, waiting for him on the counter.

"Your birthday gift," Ikumatsu states. "It _is _today, right?"

He finds it hard to swallow suddenly.

"Where are the men interested in joining the Joui faction?" he asks. His voice sounds so far away to his ears.

(He has not celebrated his birthday in, oh, _years_. He doesn't even remember what age he is, late twenties? He feels old, like the dust ground from the bones of dreamers.)

She waves nonchalantly. "I only said that to get you to come to my shop. You hardly come here anymore." There's a hint of accusation somewhere in her words.

Katsura claps his hands in thanks. "Ikumatsu-dono," he says in a wobbly voice, "I will gratefully partake in this meal."

She sighs, shaking her head; she's used to his dramatics. "Eat it before it gets cold. You know how upset I get when I see cold ramen."

"Of course, I will eat it quickly so your work doesn't go to waste!" Katsura dives into his meal, begins to choke on noodles and broth and an emotion he can't name.

"Slow _down, _idiot!"

"Yes, Ikumatsu-dono!"

"And _stop crying_ or you'll drown in your tears!" Her tone is harsh but her eyes are twinkling in merriment. She smiles with affection and it's like the sun peeking through the clouds, makes him feel young and new and bright.

* * *

_Word Count: 246_


	13. hunger games, hijikagu

**A/N: **No, I don't like the books.

**Prompt: **Kagura, Hijikata, dango

.

**13**

_hunger games_

.

Hijikata tries not to reach for the sword strapped to his waist; attacking civilians is unbecoming of an officer of the law, and a child at that—

_She's a Yato, she'll live no matter what I throw at her_, his self-preservation instincts reasons.

Kagura's staring at the dango stick he's holding and he seriously thinks she'll kill him for a few sweet dumplings. Make it look like he choked on the skewers, too.

"Uh," he says. He proffers the treat and her face brightens like she's competing with the sun.

He takes the next dangostick from the small dish beside him, watching the girl warily.

She looks at him expectantly after she's eaten it all.

"_No way,_" he says. Kagura's eyes begin to water and he thinks, _ohshitshit violence follows crying, _growls in frustration and hurtles his remaining dango into the air. She leaps up, catches it in her mouth.

"Toshi, I'm still hungry!" she whines, pulling at his sleeve.

He cradles his head in his hands, overwhelmed by prophetic, horrific images of his empty wallet.

The dango shop owner says, "Hasn't anyone told you not to feed stray animals? They'll keep coming back for more!"

And this is how Hijikata finds a dango-partner.

* * *

_Word Count: 205_


	14. don't let the bed bugs bite, kamuikagu

**Prompt: **Kagura, Kamui mention, nightmare

.

**14**

_don't let the bed bugs bite_

.

Her nightmares are born after Yoshiwara.

The figure that plagues her in them is _herself_, but not. _She_ is unrecognizable with the lush red ooze thick on her face like makeup, the eyes wide with insanity. In _her_ the lust for carnage reigns free, an untamed beast that snaps Abuto's arms as children snap twigs and bathes in his scream. _She _fights until her arms are torn off, then she uses her legs and after they, too, are taken, _she _is only a head that can bite. _She_ calls for Kamui like a lover because fighting is dancing and he is the only one who can keep up.

Kagura wakes and runs to mirror, touches its cool surface with heated fingertips. She checks that she's real, that she's Kagura, not _her_, because the girl in her nightmares is a monster that wears her eyes, nose, lips pulled back in a smile of ecstasy.

She splashes water on her face and sobs into the sink.

* * *

_Word Count: 164_


	15. you were there, before, kamuikagu

**Prompt: **Kagura, Kamui, dream

.

**15**

_you were there, before_

.

Here is a recurring dream:

A rare day in the district where she used to live, the kind of day with a few beams of light poking through the clouds like a god was smiling down.

She rushes out the door, closed umbrella swinging wildly, hitting her short legs.

"Kagura-chan," her brother calls. "Slow down or you'll trip."

In her haste she slips on the rainsoaked earth and she thinks, sourly,that someone put that puddle right there, just for her.

"Ah, I told you so," Kamui sings, laughs teasingly, and the fierce blush on her face makes him laugh harder.

She pouts on the ground. "I _hate _you, nii-chan."

"No, you don't," he says. She has nothing to say to that because it's true.

Kamui extends a hand. His smile softens and she forgives him for anything, for everything.

She reaches for him—

(But always, always)

—the clouds are pushed away, the sun comes out and it blinds her until she can't see her brother, until she feels the moisture sizzling in the air, until her skin begins to peel and she cracks like the dried husk of a dead animal and she wakes up to darkness, wet cheeks, and an outstretched hand grasping at the closet ceiling, whispering, "_Don't go, don't go, don't go." _

* * *

_Word Count: 218_


	16. letters have a mysterious way, kamuikagu

**IMPORTANT A/N: **This marks the first one-shot in this aforementioned drabble series! A little late, but this is for Kamui's birthday, June 1! This one-shot picks up right after the Kabukichou Four Divas Arc, after Takasugi and Kamui join forces.

**Prompt:** Kagura, Kamui, letter

.

.

**16**

_letters have a mysterious way of reaching their recipients_

.

.

Time seems to stand still in space where there is no sun to rise.

Aboard the Harusame Seventh Division's ship, Kamui leaps out of bed and goes to the bathroom. He washes his face, brushes his teeth, puts on his clothes and leaves the Admiral's quarters. He walks through the halls, ignores the heads that tilt in deference as he passes, and only greets the other man in the expansive room that he enters.

"Up early as always, Abuto." Kamui takes the seat at the head of the large banquet table and begins to pile food onto his plate. "What would I do without such a diligent Vice Captain?"

"You would still be in the middle of that melee," the older Yato says, gathering documents together.

Kamui nods, smiling cheerfully around a mouthful. "It might've really been the end for me!"

Abuto sighs. "Somehow, I doubt that." He gets up and heads for the door. "The meeting with that Takasugi fellow is scheduled for after breakfast. We have things to discuss that you should be present for… so don't pretend to have forgotten again."

"Meetings are a chore," Kamui whines, but he doesn't say no and Abuto takes it as a sign that he'll be there.

The door shuts behind him and Kamui continues to wolf down in silence. There's a window that stretches against the length of one side of the room, offering a view of space: all darkness, dust, brief twinkles of light.

Kamui selects a pastry and places it on a single plate. It is only a small danish, the puffy, glazed bread encircling an apple jam center.

"Happy birthday," he says to the wide room, and he eats it with a smile.

.

The meeting is rather uneventful, and by this it means that no one dies (which is exactly why Kamui finds them terribly dull). Takasugi returns to his own ship and the Kiheitai and Harusame Seventh Division both set a course for Earth.

Afternoon rolls by, and Kamui spends it by visiting the various areas of the ship (as Abuto watches, reminding him of his duties as Captain). He has never cared to learn the names of his crew and he doesn't care to start now.

Four snack breaks and a dinner later, evening has come. Kamui practices in the sparring room by himself, as there is no one strong enough (or insane enough) on the ship to challenge him.

"Abuto, call for another meeting."

"What for?"

"To see if the samurai wants to spar a bit."

Abuto does not deign this with a reply and refocuses his attention on the ship's inventory list. "You need a hobby."

"I have one already."

"You need a hobby _other than _fighting."

Kamui leaves the room, already bored with the conversation.

.

Kamui yawns, intending to hop into bed when there's a knock.

"What is it?" he asks.

Abuto enters, holding a blue box bent on one corner. "This came with today's shipment," he says, looking at the item with a curious expression. "It's addressed to _you._"

He hands Kamui the box. There's a cream envelope attached to the top with his name on it.

It is written in familiar chicken-scratch.

Abuto seems to sense a shift in the air; he clears his throat, turns away. "I'm damn tired. If that's all then I'm going to sleep." He leaves, but Kamui barely notices.

He opens the box and the side flaps unhook and inside is a medium, two-tier cake with glazed fruit dotting the top. The icing message has been squashed and cake bits cover the insides of the box; it looks like hell but it smells like sweet chocolate, and somewhere in there, sukonbu.

He reads the letter, which starts with, _"To my stupid brother, I don't know if you'll get this but if you do, I have a few words to say…" _

There are curses that would make a Harusame pirate blush, there are promises of pain (_"Don't die because it's my job to send your ass to Hell!")_, there are naïve promises (_"And it's my job to bring you back!"), _and the jumbled, rambling letter ends, "_So have a happy birthday, you bastard. Even if the world doesn't celebrate the day you were born, I still will." _

Kamui's smile looks as it always does — blithe and sharp, like the edge of a knife — as he rips the letter in half. "So sentimental, Kagura-chan. So weak."

He takes the plastic fork attached to the inside of the box and sits by the large window view of space, holds the cake on his lap as he eats. He remembers, once upon a time, that he cradled young Kagura in his lap by the window as the moonlight rocked them both to sleep.

Space is endless, timeless, all darkness, dust, and brief twinkles of light, but Kamui's eyes are unseeing. The taste of love rolls across his tongue, should make him gag and want to laugh, but he swallows it down. Another forkful of cake, then another, and another, until it's all gone, a blue box scraped clean at his feet as he twirls the two pieces of his sister's heart between his fingers.

He remembers.

* * *

_Word Count: _867


End file.
